Busy Being Fabulous
by LoveAndSerenity
Summary: Songfic based on the Eagles song. Troypay & some Troyella, kinda. Before Gabriella came, Troy was dating Sharpay. When Troy feels she's too "Busy Being Fabulous" to have time for him, he decides to end it. But is Gabriella really what Troy wants?
1. Part One

**Busy Being Fabulous  
**_By LoveAndSerenity_

**Hi! Thank you for giving my story a chance. This is my first ever HSM fanfic! And my first fanfic on this site! And my first ever songfic, too! **

**Since I'm so new at this, I wasn't really sure if there was a certain way to write songfics, so I kinda did my own thing. I know a lot of people typically just center the lyrics and put them in different parts of the fic. But I wanted to try something new. I wrote the lyrics into the story. You'll see, and you'll be able to tell easily what parts are the lyrics to the song.**

**I originally intended for this to be a oneshot, but since it ended up with 7,000 words, I think it's best to break it up into chapters.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the song "Busy Being Fabulous" by the Eagles. I don't own HSM, either, which makes me sad, but I **_**am **_**going to marry Zac Efron someday, so it's all good. I own everything else besides that stuff, though. The plot, the writing, etc.; you know how these work.**

* * *

**This is Part One: The Break-Up.**

* * *

Troy Bolton threw the last of all his stuff together in his gym bag. He'd just finished another tiring basketball practice. On a Friday, no less. He sighed, thinking how boring this weekend was going to be. Then he remembered. His girlfriend, Sharpay Evans, was coming over that night, and she'd said she'd be waiting for him when he got home. She had a spare key. Troy had given it to her so she could come and see him even when his parents were gone.

He smiled at the thought of her. Troy got really happy. He and Sharpay hadn't really hung out for a while, and he missed spending time with her. Sure, she was snobby sometimes (okay, a lot of the time) but there was something about her that Troy liked. She was different around him.... She showed emotion. Most people wouldn't know that Sharpay Evans had feelings. But she let her guard down with him, and he liked that. And plus, she was hot. (Hey, can you blame him? He was a teenage boy, after all.)

Troy sighed happily and started to walk home. His dad, the coach, had told Troy that he would be busy tonight, working late or something, and his mom was on a business trip. He and Sharpay would get some time alone.

He was just about to leave the school gym when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey man." Troy turned around to see his best friend Chad Danforth looking at him. "You wanna hang out at my place tonight?"

"I can't," Troy smiled. "I'm hanging out with Sharpay tonight."

Chad frowned. "Why do even like her, man? She's such a--" Chad started, but Troy cleared his throat loudly.

"She's my girlfriend," he said.

Chad rolled his eyes. "She's also the Ice Princess. How can you stand being with her? She's so into herself. She doesn't care about other people."

Troy glared. "She cares about me," he said defensively.

Chad patted his shoulder sympathetically. "I just hope you're right, man," he said. "I don't wanna see you get hurt because of the Ice Princess."

Troy shrugged Chad's hand off his shoulder. "Whatever," he said, and left.

Chad sighed. He knew Sharpay. "This isn't good," he said aloud to no one in particular.

--o-.-xXx-.-o--

Troy was just approaching his house. He smiled a little and unlocked the door, then walked inside. He set his bag on the floor.

"Sharpay?" he called. "I'm home!"

That locked door should have been his first clue.

At first he didn't hear anyone, but he knew Sharpay was probably playing around. She liked to jump out behind him and scare him, especially at school, where she knew his friends would laugh at him when they saw him jump. They liked to tease each other. Troy smiled to himself and jumped into the kitchen, sure that he'd be the one to get her this time.

He'd forgotten that Sharpay always left the door unlocked for him when she was there.

But then he saw the note, and it started to make sense.

It was just a simple little piece of paper, but he knew instantly what it meant. Just seeing it there, pinned up on his fridge by the stupid little basketball magnet, told him what it meant. He walked over the fridge and took the note down. It was on a pink paper, and had girly handwriting on it. It was definitely from Sharpay.

He read the note, then reread it, then sighed. He sat down at the kitchen table and tried to calm himself.

"_It's fine, she just, obviously, has better things to do than hang out with me tonight..."_ he thought. Then he slammed his fist on the table and swore.

"Yeah, sure, she has better stuff to do than hanging out with me. Cause it's not like I'm her BOYFRIEND or anything!" he yelled, standing up. "It's not like she TOLD ME she'd be here or anything! It's not like she was SUPPOSED TO BE HERE or something!"

Troy swore under his breath once more and went up to his room. He picked up his basketball pillow and hurled it at the wall.

"Ugh!" he shouted, and fell back on his bed. He reached for the phone.

--o-.-xXx-.-o--

Chad heard the phone ring and looked at the caller I.D., seeing Troy's name. Chad sighed. He knew this was going to happen.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Man, I hate it when you're right," he heard Troy's voice say through the phone.

--o-.-xXx-.-o--

It was Monday, the last day before Winter Break, but Troy wasn't happy. Sharpay had blown him off. Again. He was tired of this. He marched right into school and up to Sharpay, who was hanging around her pink locker, checking her makeup. Ryan stood right beside her.

"Oh, hi, Troy--" Sharpay started, but he cut her off.

"We need to talk."

"Um, okay...." Sharpay said, sounding a little confused.

"Alone," Troy added, giving Ryan a look.

Ryan looked at Troy with an annoyed expression and folded his arms across his chest. He was _not_ going to move just because _Troy Bolton_ told him to.

"Fine," snarled Troy, and he dragged Sharpay down the hall and into an empty classroom.

"Troy, is this about Friday, because--" Sharpay started.

"Of course it's about Friday!" Troy practically spat. "It's about this!"

He pulled the folded up pink note from his pocket and held it out. It was worn, showing that it'd been read over a few times.

"Oh," said Sharpay, a bored look on her face. "So?"

"SO?" Troy said. "SO?! I thought we were supposed to hang out Friday!"

"Well," Sharpay started, but Troy interrupted.

_**"I came home to an empty house and I found your little note,"**_ he said, scowling.

Troy opened the note and waved it in her face. It didn't have much on it. It wasn't very long.

_**"Don't wait up for me tonight." And that was all she wrote.**_

Troy continued. _**"Do you think I don't know that you're out on the town, with all of your high-rollin' friends?"**_ he asked her. "What do you do when you're done?" he asked, not waiting for an answer. _**"What do you do when you come up empty? Where do you go when the party ends?"**_

Sharpay stared at Troy. His eyes were wild, and his chest was rising and falling heavily, from his shouting.

"Troy, I was just--" she began.

_**"And you were just too busy being fabulous!"**_ he yelled. _**"Too busy to think about us!"**_

"Troy, I know we--" Sharpay tried, but Troy cut her off again.

_**"I don't know what you were dreaming of,"**_ he said to her, "But..." He looked at her and she saw the hurt in his eyes. _**"Somehow, you forgot about love."**_

"Troy, I was just having a good time with my friends and--" Sharpay tried to say more, but yet again, Troy stopped her.

_**"And you were just too busy being fabulous, uh-huh!"**_ he finished for her.

Sharpay just looked at him. He knew she was mad, but he was so angry that it didn't matter to him what Sharpay thought.

"You know what you need, Sharpay?" Troy asked her. "**_A little time in the country; a day or two to slow down._**"

"But, Troy," Sharpay said softly. She felt a little pang in her heart. He hadn't used one of his cute little pet names for her. He had called her by her real, whole name.

Troy looked her right in the eyes.

"Sharpay, I had all sorts of stuff in mind for us," he said. "A picnic under the stars--"

Sharpay's anger had disappeared. Now she was full of regret.

Troy continued. _**"A bottle of wine and a walk in the moonlight, maybe some foolin' around--" **_but he stopped himself, seeing Sharpay's eyes getting wide with curiosity. He mentally slapped himself.

_"Did I just say that out loud?"_ he thought. He had just gotten so caught up in the moment that he let it slip out. _"A bottle of wine? Foolin' around?!"_ he thought. _"Wow, I did just say that... out loud... to Sharpay... Ugh!"_ Troy's face got red, but luckily for him, Sharpay thought it was because of his anger.

Troy looked at her, his breathing still slightly irregular, waiting for her to say something. Sharpay just stood there, while her brown eyes showed her worry and sadness.

Troy waited, but Sharpay didn't say a word. Finally, he snapped. "But of course that's not a possibility anymore. It was, once," he said, _**"but you think time is just a magazine, and money's just a thrill! I've waited so long for you to change your way of livin'. Now I realize that you never will."**_

That was too much for Sharpay. Tiny tears formed in her eyes. Troy forced himself not to look at them, because they'd only make him weak. Seeing her cry would make him stop and give up the whole thing. He couldn't afford that. Not here. Not now. He couldn't back down now. He forced himself to go on.

"And you know why, Sharpay?" Troy asked her. _**"'Cause you were just too busy being fabulous. Too busy to think about us. Lookin' for something you'll never find."**_

Troy couldn't help himself. He looked up into Sharpay's eyes, seeing the hurt and tears, and said, softly, _**"You'll never know what you left behind, 'cause you were just too busy being fabulous, uh-huh."**_

Sharpay let a tiny sniffle out. She couldn't help it. "Troy..." she whispered. "What are you saying?"

Troy took a deep breath and looked down at his feet. Finally, he said, quietly, "I'm saying I can't do this anymore, Sharpay. I'm saying... I'm done with this. With..." he hesitated. "With us," he whispered.

Sharpay let out a sob. She tried so hard to stop her tears from flowing, but she couldn't help it. "Fine, Troy, if that's what you really want... then I guess we're done!"

And with that, she shoved past him and ran out of the room as fast as she could, sobbing, to the girls' bathroom.

* * *

**Up Next**

**Part Two: Conversations and Confrontations.**


	2. Part Two

**Busy Being Fabulous  
**_By LoveAndSerenity_

**This is Part Two: Conversations and Confrontations.**

* * *

Troy sighed. He was just as hurt as her. Even more so, he reasoned, because he had actually started believing that he...

"No. I must've been mistaken," he said angrily. "There's no way I could've felt that way about... the _Ice Princess_."

Troy strode out of the classroom casually, as if nothing had happened. Before he could even get to his locker, however, he felt someone grab his arm. He turned around to see a not-very-happy-looking Ryan.

"Look, I don't have time for this--" Troy declared, but Ryan cut him off.

"You're dead, Bolton."

Troy scoffed and pulled his arm out of Ryan's grip. "Oh yeah? Says who?"

Ryan glared up at him. Troy smirked that he was an inch or two taller than Ryan.

"Says me," Ryan growled. "Whatever you did to my sister, you're gonna pay for."

Troy laughed at him. "_Right._ Call me when you'd actually stand a chance against me."

Ryan clenched his fists. "Look, you arrogant asshole, Sharpay never cries at school. _Never._ I don't know what the hell you did to her, but I'm gonna make you sorry you ever messed with my little sister, Bolton!" he snarled.

Troy felt bad for a moment. It was true. Sharpay Evans didn't cry at school. In fact, she never cried, period. The Ice Princess wasn't supposed to have feelings.

But then he remembered why he'd broken up with her, and pushed those thoughts of pity out of his mind.

Troy just shrugged at Ryan. "You and what army?" he sneered. He took one last look down on Ryan and stormed off.

--o-.-xXx-.-o--

It was the end of Winter Break, and Troy was ecstatic. He'd met the calmest, sweetest girl over the break. Her name was Gabriella Montez. They had sung a duet together in the ski lodge, and he'd just been thinking about her nonstop since then.

At first he'd been reluctant to sing a duet. Singing was Sharpay's passion, and he didn't want to be reminded of her again. But Gabriella was so sweet, and shy, that he just wanted to help her break out of her shell. So he sang with her, pushing the guilty feelings aside, and they both had really gotten into it.

The day Troy saw Gabriella in his school, he went crazy. He was falling for this girl, and now she was here with him. As Gabriella became adjusted to East High, she and Troy became better and better friends.

Sharpay hadn't been the same after the break-up. She'd cried for three days, and after that, she just became numb. The only way she could express her pain was towards everyone else. She became the Ice Princess; meaner, nastier and even more heartless than ever before. She normally didn't try to be mean, it just came out that way. But now, she was so hurt that she felt she could only feel better by making others feel her agony. Soon, the whole school disliked her. No one spoke to her besides Ryan and Kelsi.

Sharpay and Kelsi had a strange friendship. Sharpay had always appreciated Kelsi for all her efforts in the musicals. Kelsi was kind, forgiving, and unpredjudice. She and Ryan really were Sharpay's only friends. All her rich friends that she partied with weren't really her friends. She just liked having fun with them, because they were glamorous and rich, like her.

Ryan loved his sister. He was her big brother (even if only by a few minutes), and he took care of her. He never did fight Troy, but he glared at him every moment he could, and made sure his life was hell. Ryan was doing his best to ensure that he followed through with his threats to Troy.

But no matter what any of them did, they knew it meant nothing. The whole school thought Troy liked Gabriella, and her calm, goody-two-shoes personality better than Sharpay's wild, flashy one.

--o-.-xXx-.-o--

Troy was at basketball practice. He just stood there, deep in thought, when Chad came up to him.

_"So, dude, you know that school musical thing? Is it true you get extra credit just for auditioning?" asked Troy._

_"Who cares?" said Chad._

_"You know it's always good to get extra credit... for college..." said Troy._

_"You ever think that Lebron James or Shaquille O'Neal auditioned for their school musical?"_

_"Maybe," Troy said._

_"Troy. Look, the music in those shows isn't hip hop, ok or rock, or anything essential to culture. It's like show music. It's all costumes and makeup... Oh, dude, it's frightening."_

_"Yeah, I know. I just thought it might be a good laugh, you know. Sharpay's kinda cute, too."_

_"So is a mountain lion. But you don't pet it," Chad said._

Troy looked at him funny but then Chad noticed what Troy had said. "Wait, you just said _Sharpay's_ kinda cute!" he said. "You do remember that you broke up with her, right?"

Troy realized his mistake. "Oh, yeah, of course, I, uh--"

"You're not supposed to say stuff like that about your ex-girlfriend, man," said Chad harshly.

Troy gulped. "I know, I-uh-I meant to say, um, Gabriella. Yeah. Gabriella's kinda cute, so it might be... like... fun to audition with her or something," he said nervously.

Chad shook his head. "Whatever you say, man. I think you need to get your priorities straight," he said, then walked away to join Jason and Zeke for practice.

Troy just stood there. He couldn't believe he'd just said that._ "Why did I say Sharpay?!"_ he thought. _"I dumped her! I'm over her! I meant to say Gabriella. I like Gabriella now! She's really sweet and calm... I broke up with Sharpay because I wanted a girl like Gabriella!"_ He sighed. _"And now I have to prove it to Chad. I guess... I'll audition with Gabriella."_

--o-.-xXx-.-o--

It was the day that the Twinkle Town callbacks list would be up. Ryan and Sharpay had practiced for the auditions for hours, and had done great. They both walked into school, right up to the callback list. They knew they'd nail the roles.

Or so they thought.

_"Callback?! Aah!" Sharpay cried, fanning herself._

_"Callback for roles Arnold and Minnie next Thursday, 3:30pm. Ryan and Sharpay Evans, Gabriella Montez and Troy Bolton," read Ryan._

_"Is this some kind of joke? They didn't even audition!" Sharpay shrieked._

_"Maybe we're being Punk'd?" said Ryan suddenly._

_"What?"_

_"Maybe we're being filmed right now. Maybe we'll get to meet Ashton!" yelled Ryan excitedly._

_"Oh, shut up, Ryan!"_

Sharpay stormed off, holding back tears. Ryan didn't get it. He didn't understand that it wasn't the roles she cared about. It was the whole concept of Troy and Gabriella trying to take them. She went in the nearest girls' bathroom and locked herself in a stall. Then she sat down and cried.

"How c-could you, Troy?" she said between sobs. "M-m-musicals were _m-my_ thing. You n-never even w-wanted to do them with m-me! And n-now you and _her_ are t-trying to t-take away the only th-thing I have l-left!"

Sharpay had thought that this was her time to let out her private feelings. To finally release the pain that had been bottled up inside.

Sharpay wiped away her tears and walked out of the bathroom, after checking her makeup and reapplying as necessary. She sighed and left.

'Wow," said Gabriella, who had been two stalls over, silent, the whole time.

--o-.-xXx-.-o--

Troy and Gabriella had auditioned when everyone else was gone. Troy insisted. He knew Sharpay would be fuming if she'd known, and he had been right. He really didn't expect that they'd get a callback, he just done it to prove to Chad that he liked Gabriella.

Gabriella had told him about everything she's heard in the bathroom. "Why would you have done a musical with her?" she asked him after telling Troy the story.

Troy shifted uncomfortably. "Well, before Winter Break, Sharpay and I were... going out," he said finally.

Gabriella's eyes grew wide. "Really, Troy? Wow! I'd never guess that you'd like someone like her. She's just so mean!"

Troy sighed. "Yeah, well, she's not as bad as everyone thinks," he said.

"_Sharpay is mean sometimes, but it's only because she's honest and speaks her mind. She doesn't care that being open like that stops her from being a perfect sweetheart all the time. She's just happy with who she is,"_ Troy thought.

He pushed the thoughts of her out of his mind. "Well, anyway, you want to hang out after school?" Troy asked.

Gabriella shook her head. "Sorry Troy. I have to study for that history quiz coming up," she said.

Troy looked at her incredulously. "But, Gabriella, it's Friday, and that quiz isn't for two weeks!" he cried.

Gabriella looked at him, her mouth hanging open slightly. "Oh my gosh! You're right!" she said.

Troy felt relieved. He'd thought for a second she'd been serious about studying.

"I thought it was in three weeks! I have to study even harder!" she said. "But, Troy, if you want, you could come over and study, too?"

Troy restrained himself from shouting, "Are you crazy?!" at her. Instead he politely shook his head and thought of an excuse.

"Sorry, I, uh, promised Chad we'd hang out if you were busy with something," he lied. He couldn't believe she was actually studying, on a Friday night, for a quiz that was two weeks away!

Gabriella nodded, said goodbye, and walked away. _"Sharpay was always so laid back and cool about everything," _Troy thought_. "She knew how to have fun, even if she did seem to party a lot."_ Suddenly Troy banged his head on the locker near him. _"STOP THINKING ABOUT HER!"_ he screamed in his mind.

A few passing students looked at him funny. Troy just groaned and walked off to his next class.

--o-.-xXx-.-o--

During free period, Troy went to the gym. He saw Chad and Zeke sitting on the bleachers talking. Chad was bouncing a basketball lightly. Troy walked over to them.

"Hey man!" said Zeke when he spotted Troy. "How's it going?"

"I'm fine. You?" he asked.

"Good, I--" Zeke replied, but Chad interrupted.

"Hey, Troy, you're going to the party tonight, right?" Chad said, more as a statement then a question.

"Oh yeah!" said Zeke. "You're coming, Troy, right?"

Troy looked from Zeke to Chad. "Okay, I'm gonna sound stupid, but what party?" he asked.

"Serious?!" yelled Zeke.

"Yeah, man, this party is gonna be huge! You seriously don't know about it?"

"No... What party are you talking about?" Troy replied, confused.

"Man, only the biggest bash since Zeke's Halloween party!" yelled Chad.

"Yeah!" chimed in Zeke. "And even bigger than the beach party last summer!"

"WHAT PARTY?!" Troy asked, shouting.

"Three words," said Zeke.

Chad piped up. "Jason's. House. Party!"

"No way!" said Troy. "Jason's got a pool, a basketball court, _and_ a game room!"

"Dude, we know," said Zeke. "And his parents are gone for the weekend."

"And it's gonna be huge. Like, half of the entire junior and senior classes are gonna be there!" grinned Chad.

"Count me in," Troy said. "I wouldn't miss it even if I already had plans!"

Chad looked at him suspiciously. "Didn't you say you were going to ask Gabriella out tonight?" he asked. "You didn't _chicken out_, did you?"

Troy shook his head. "No, of course not, why would I chicken out when I like her?" he replied quickly.

"Uh huh," said Chad, and Zeke laughed.

"Dude, we can tell you don't like Gabriella," Zeke said. "We know you just don't want to tell us who you really like."

Troy sighed. They knew the truth. "Gabriella's nice, but I've been realizing she's just not right for me. She's _too_ nice sometimes. Know what I mean?" he confessed.

Zeke and Chad agreed.

"And, she's just too..." Troy said.

"Too what?" asked Zeke.

"Well, when I asked her to hang out after school, before I knew about the party, of course," he said, seeing their faces, "she told me she had to _study_ for the history quiz!"

"But that isn't for two weeks! And it's Friday!" Zeke exclaimed.

"That girl has problems," said Chad, shaking his head.

They all chuckled.

* * *

**Up Next**

**Part Three: The Party.**


	3. Part Three

**Busy Being Fabulous  
**_By LoveAndSerenity_

**This is Part Three: The Party.**

* * *

It was 11:15 p.m., and the party was just starting to get a little crazy. Troy noticed some strange things going on.

First, half the guys from the basketball team were taking shots in the kitchen, and Troy could swear they'd done at least 14 by now. There were numerous people around them, screaming and chanting. There was music up way too loud, and there were at least six passed-out seniors scattered around the house. Troy also noticed that the stairs of Jason's house had been littered with random items, from pool floats to basketballs to empty bottles to--was that a _bra_?!

Suddenly, Troy felt a hand on his shoulder. He spun around to see a very intoxicated Chad.

"Hey, man, great party!" Chad yelled, even though there was no need. Troy was right next to him, and could hear him perfectly in his normal tone.

"Dude, you're wasted," said Troy, pushing Chad off.

Chad grinned. He leaned over and whispered loudly in Troy's ear. "Not as wasted as the girls up in Jason's room," he slurred, and pointed to the abandoned bra.

Troy's eyes grew wide. He didn't even want to think about what his classmates were doing to the unfortunate girls who had made the mistake of getting drunk at this party. He pushed Chad away and ran up the stairs. If he found one of his friends up there, he was going to murder them.

Teenage boy or not, Troy knew that he shouldn't stand by when there were girls getting taken advantage of. He couldn't help it. He always had been somewhat of a hero. He felt he had to help those in need.

As he got to the top, he heard screaming. His heart missed a beat. Just then, several senior boys came out of the closest door, all with shocked and unhappy expressions.

"Stupid bitch," said one as he passed Troy.

"She ruins everything," grumbled another.

"It's was only a little fun!" pouted a third.

Troy shoved them aside and stood in the open doorway of the bedroom. His breath was sucked out of him as he took in the scene before him.

Sharpay was there, helping a petite red-haired girl pull her shirt on. The girl was crying, and Troy could see how confused she looked.

"It's okay, Becky," Sharpay whispered to the girl, rubbing her back. Becky was sitting in Jason's desk chair, and Sharpay was kneeling beside her. Troy watched as Sharpay awkwardly hugged her.

He heard a small groan and he turned to see an average size, black-haired girl lying, sprawled-out, on Jason's bed. She wasn't wearing a shirt or a bra. Troy looked away quickly, blushing. He looked back at Becky, who was now watching as Sharpay walked towards the black-haired girl.

"Claire?" Sharpay whispered. "Claire, honey, do you know where your clothes are?"

Claire just moaned. Troy wasn't watching, as he wasn't going to be a sick freak and stare at girl when she was drunk and half-naked. But if he had been, he'd have seen Claire holding her head, shaking it.

"Becky, do you know where Claire left her top and bra?" Sharpay asked. Troy's eyes had been focussed on Becky as she sat there wiping her tears away. Becky was shaking her head when suddenly she caught sight of Troy and gasped.

Sharpay looked over quickly. When she saw Troy, her eyes narrowed and she glared at him. "How long have you been standing there, you perv?" she asked harshly.

Troy's eyes grew wide. He looked at Sharpay in shock, speechless. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared him down.

"I-I-I've only been--only s-since--not very long," he said nervously.

Sharpay stared daggers at him, but finally saw in his eyes that he was telling the truth.

"Fine, but now go make yourself useful and find Claire's clothes," she snarled at him.

Troy nodded nervously and backed out of the doorway, then turned to go down the hall. He remembered the bra on the stairs, and went down and picked it up.

_"Now where's her top?"_ he thought. It only made sense that if she'd lost her clothes going up the stairs, the top would have been taken off first and therefore at the bottom of the stairs.

Troy looked around, and finally saw a green baby doll t-shirt underneath an empty plastic cup. He picked up the shirt and walked back upstairs. When he reached the doorway, he nervously held out the garments while looking purposely in the other direction. He felt them snatched from his hands, and then heard the soft voice of Sharpay coaxing Claire to put her clothes back on.

"Alright, Bolton, explain yourself," Sharpay said after he assumed she'd gotten Claire dressed. "What were you doing?"

Troy turned to face her. "I just wanted to make sure that everyone was okay," he started. "Chad--I heard there were girls up here who needed help."

But Troy could see that they didn't need his help. Becky (Claire was too drunk) was gazing at Sharpay in admiration. Troy realized how compassionate and brave Sharpay was. She had screamed at senior boys, who easily could've pinned her down--or worse. She had protected two girls Troy didn't know, and he guessed Sharpay barely knew them any better. She was like a loving mother, or sister, or... a friend. Sharpay didn't even have any friends, besides Kelsi and Ryan, but she knew how to be a better friend than the people who had left two drunken teenage girls alone with older teenage boys. She'd helped Becky and Claire; protected them from being taken advantage of.

Sharpay's cold eyes softened. "You were always the Golden Boy, Troy," she remarked softly. "Always the hero."

_"No,"_ thought Troy, _"_You_ were the hero this time, Sharpay."_ He realized it was completely true. There was so much more to Sharpay than he'd thought. She really was a good person.

Then her head turned to the doorway.

Troy turned and saw Ryan. As their eyes met, Troy could see the anger flashing at him, but also with a hint of confusion and curiosity.

"Good, Ryan, you're here," said Sharpay. "Do you mind if we take Claire and Becky home, too?"

Ryan shook his head. "I'll show you to the car," he said gently to Becky.

Sharpay looked at Claire. "Ry, do you mind helping me carry her back to the car? I don't know if she can do it herself...." Sharpay trailed off, looking concerned at the girl moaning in pain on the bed.

"Course not, sis," said Ryan, and he moved towards Claire. Troy desperately shot him a look, and Ryan noticed.

Ryan stood there, looking at Troy, reading his face. Troy's blue eyes pleaded with Ryan's, and Ryan finally understood.

"Actually, I can carry her myself," he said, pulling Claire to her feet and leaning her weight on him. "Just get your bag, and whatever other stuff, and meet me in the car, so we can blow this joint."

Troy gave Ryan a nod of thanks. Ryan returned it with a look that said, _"I'm warning you, I WILL kill you this time if I have to!"_

Ryan and Claire hobbled out of the room, Becky following close behind.

Troy turned back to Sharpay, as she looked for her purse. She wanted to avoid a confrontation with Troy. She walked to the door, but Troy blocked her.

"Please move, Bolton," she said, not harshly, but pleading. She didn't meet his eyes.

"Not until you'll listen to me," he replied. She sighed, and sat down on the edge of Jason's bed. Troy sat down too, but left some distance between them.

"Fine, what do you want to say?" she asked, looking away from him.

"I--I just wanted to know if you're okay," Troy said softly, his eyes never leaving her.

She turned to look him in the eyes. He saw her pain and tears building up.

"That's not funny, Bolton," she said seriously.

He looked at her. "What's not funny?" he asked, feeling confused.

_**"You tell a joke and everybody's laughin'; that's something you know how to do,"**_ said Sharpay. "But you know what, Bolton? Not me. I'm not laughing."

"What are you talking about, Sharpay?" he asked. "That's always been _you_, and you know it." He stared at her, waiting for a response. When he didn't receive one, he continued.

_**"You've always been the life of the party,"**_ he said. "You were always the one to crack the jokes about other people."

She glared at him, and started to open her mouth to say something when he cut her off.

_**"But now my baby, the joke is on you."**_

Sharpay's eyes raged with fire. "The joke's on _me_, Bolton? Me? I don't think so. No, if the joke's on anyone, Troy, it's _you_," she growled.

"Oh, really? I'd love to hear your reasoning for that," he said angrily.

"The joke's on you, because you pushed me away, when I cared about you," Sharpay whispered.

"You know why, Sharpay!" Troy exclaimed. _**"'Cause you were just too busy being fabulous! Too busy to think about us, running after something that never comes. What in the world are you runnin' from?"**_

Sharpay looked so hurt, Troy couldn't help but want to reach out and wrap his arms around her. But he didn't.

"If you must know, Troy, I wasn't running away from anything. I was running _towards_ revenge, but--" she began.

"Revenge?" asked Troy quietly, looking deep into her eyes.

She blushed, but didn't turn away. "I wanted you to feel what I felt, because I was so hurt," she said. "You really hurt me, Troy, and then even more with the whole musical thing. I wanted to show you that you'd hurt me bad when I cared about you, and..." she trailed off.

"And?" asked, Troy, his throat suddenly closing up, so his words sounded choked and hoarse.

_**"And you were just too busy being fabulous. Too busy to think about us, to drink the wine from your winner's cup, to notice the children were growin' up,"**_ she rambled. "You were too busy with basketball and practicing every second of your free time. You were too busy being the Basketball King..."

Troy leaned over and hugged her. She was crying now, and he just hugged her tight, her head against his chest.

"Shhh, it's okay, Sharpay," he whispered to her, stroking her hair.

_**"And you were just too busy being fabulous,"**_ she said, sobbing. _**"Too busy, too busy, too busy..."**_

"It's okay Shar, it's alright." He tried to calm her down, as he could tell she was babbling hysterically. They both knew that half of what she was saying made no sense.

Suddenly she looked up into his eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

He kissed her forehead. _**"Aw, baby,"**_ he said. "I'm sorry too. I think it's both of our faults, but my heart's telling me it's all my fault. All my own damn fault and you'll never take me back."

Sharpay choked. "You want me to take you back?" she whispered, hope shining in her eyes.

Troy smiled at her. "More than anything in the world," he said honestly. "I finally realized I'd given up the thing that meant the most to me."

Sharpay smiled through her tears, and Troy leaned down slowly. He was less than a half centimeter from her lips.

"SHAR! We still have to take Claire and Becky home!" yelled Ryan. They both turned to see him standing in the doorway, hands on his hips. He shot Troy a smirk, then pulled Sharpay up and dragged her to the door.

Sharpay looked back at Troy and mouthed, "Call me tonight."

Troy winked at her as she blew him a kiss.

Because whether or not she was busy being fabulous, Troy was in love.

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**Thanks so much for reading the whole thing! I thought it turned out okay, but it really wasn't what I had imagined when I started writing it.**

**Please, please review, since it is my first story. No flames, please, unless it's **_**really**_** that horrible. I hope it isn't. It's only my first story! Please be nice!**

**I know it's probably very different from most songfics, the way I wrote the lyrics in. All the words in that are both bolded and italicized are the lyrics to "Busy Being Fabulous", by the Eagles. I'll have you know this story took me forever, like three weeks. I managed to use every single lyric, but it was really hard in some parts, to make them fit in with the story. I know it isn't amazing, but please, please review, so my next story can be!**

**Oh, and you may have already noticed, but I included some scenes and dialogue actually from the movie.**

**Once again, thanks for reading. I'm sorry if there are any mistakes in this; I reread it a bunch of times to try to fix everything. If I missed something, forgive me.**

**Please review! It means a lot! I really want to know what you think, since after all, what would I be without my readers? Thank you!**

**--Serenity**

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